Cricket can be a cruel sport and its followers, a fickle collective. A man termed great one day can become the nation’s enemy the very next. Sourav Ganguly knows that quite well.

He was first selected to the Indian One Day squad in 1992 and his career seemed to be over even before it had started. He got one game and his lack of subservience to the senior members in the side was misconstrued as arrogance. He was kicked out and made to fend for himself in the Cricketing wilderness. But the story didn’t end there with Ganguly. This just turned out to be an initial hiccup in a career that would last an unprecedented 12 years.

The year 1996 was an important one for Indian Cricket - India had been knocked out of the Cricket World Cup in the Semi-Final following pathetic scenes at the Eden Gardens; the man whose bat toyed with the emotions of a nation, Sachin Tendulkar, became India’s captain at the young age of 23; and two promising cricketers started a journey that would lead to the formation of one of the strongest middle order line-ups ever seen. In what was one of the most fascinating displays of off-side stroke play, Ganguly scored a century on debut at Lord’s and thus re-ignited his association with Indian Cricket.

It was the year 2000 and Indian Cricket had plunged to amazingly low depths following poor performances on the field and shady dealings off of it. “If Sachin Tendulkar couldn’t, who could?” This seemed like a valid question at the time. Sachin Tendulkar had a disastrous time leading the team and soon enough, he resigned. While Ganguly was a terrific player to watch on his day, what he will be most remembered for was his captaincy. Sourav Ganguly was handed the reigns in 2000 and Indian Cricket got what it needed - a leader with balls.

Ganguly and coach John Wright, the quietly efficient New Zealander, brought about a change in the way India played their Cricket. There was an influx of youth, but crucially, the newcomers were backed. The team didn’t look meek anymore. They played aggressively and did not give an inch to the opposition. India’s greatest test series triumph came in 2003 against the touring Australians and while Ganguly did not contribute much with the bat, he can take the credit for molding the team into a fighting unit; a group of individuals who were not going to succumb to ‘mental disintegration’.

As with any good story, there was a twist. Ganguly was sacked as captain in 2005 following a period of extremely poor form coinciding with that of the team and soon enough found himself in the same situation as he was in 1992. And as with any good sports story, there was a comeback. He returned in 2006 against South Africa, mostly due to his replacements failing to live up to their promise. Ironically, Ganguly was making his way back at the expense of the youth he had backed in his tenure as Captain.

We were now seeing Ganguly playing without the pressures of leading a team, and every batsman longs to play with an uncluttered mind. While he did not exactly resemble the Ganguly of the 90s, he did remind us on more than one occasion of his illustrious past. He did not defend the ball like a Dravid, did not use his wrists like a Laxman or pull shots out of nowhere like a Tendulkar. But he did make runs and ultimately, that’s all that mattered.

So now we come to the conclusion of a career that has given pleasure and anger to millions of fans and more than enough fodder for the media. This time it was Ganguly’s age, poor fielding and a couple of Sri Lankan spin wizards who were responsible for the end. Finally, Sourav Ganguly had to hang up his boots.

It was not surprising that Ganguly was the first one of the Indian ‘Fab Five’ to announce his retirement from International Cricket. He has managed to weave his own story in spite of forces (some of his own making) trying to bring him down. This is a guy who took off his shirt and waved it around screaming expletives at the holiest of Cricketing venues, for crying out loud. It’s only fair that he gets to script the ending.

Photo Courtesy: alister667, Prabhu.S

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